Television scares the enlightened, at least it should anyways. Ever since I took Comm Theory I have been fascinated by Cultivation theory. For those of you who are unaware, Cultivation theory revolves around the effects of television on both the individual and society. It was developed by George Gerbner in the 60's when television consisted of 3 channels and the camera couldn't show two people sleeping in the same bed. More specifically (without going into too much detail), Cultivation theory suggests that people from all different cultures in society become "cultivated" and begin to take on similar ideas and beliefs. For example, if an inner-city resident were to watch a violent television drama that person will begin to believe that the world is more violent then it actually is. Now if a wealthy country resident watches the same program that person will also begin to think the number of violent incidents is higher than what it actually is, much like the inner-city resident. The two people who come from different back rounds/cultures should have different 'truths' behind how much violence there is in the world but they begin to see eye-to-eye because of their only source, television.
This is where things get scary. Now it has been 50 years from when this theory was developed and I'll be the first to admit that things are much different. However, I would have to argue that television has become a much more significant power now than it was then. That being said, more people are watching the same things and being 'cultivated' to the same ideas. This brings me to the main point of this blog, the power of the people sending those messages.
I use journalists simply because it is what I aspire to be someday but the following rules apply to anyone who has the ability to put out a mass message (AKA anyone with a Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Blog, etc.). As a journalist you often have to speak about an immense variety of subjects. It is naive to think that journalists are experts on all the subjects that they speak about but to the viewer at home, that anchor knows more about the subject than them, making them an expert. When you educate the uneducated about something they are likely to believe what you are saying as truth because they do not know any better.
If Cultivation theory has any merit at all then the prospect of someone--especially someone who is NOT an expert in a subject--telling people who can't ask questions and can't respond to what the journalist is saying is a tremendous amount of power. A news station has the ability to decide what is important to everyone else in our society (in some cases, our global society), place value on it, and then dictate what we should think about it. Journalism is suppose to be unbiased. However, realistically it is quite difficult, if not impossible, not to put some sort of biased spin on any story.
A world that all thinks the same way based on the view points of one person is way too much power for anyone and it is dangerous: Hitler was able to make millions go to war, kill and die for his plans of genocide. Teenage girls have developed Bulemia based on someones idea of what beauty is. Many young boys get their ideals of what it means to be a man and how to treat women from the WWE. Many people don't leave their homes because news stations decided the latest murder story was more important to air than the volunteer work done by hundreds each day. There are people out there who think they can get away with the perfect murder because they have watched a few seasons of CSI. Votes for public officials have been swayed because of celebrity endorsements. TV has the ability to make us all think about the same things in the same way. Shouldn't we ask,"Who's doing the thinking?"
This is where things get scary. Now it has been 50 years from when this theory was developed and I'll be the first to admit that things are much different. However, I would have to argue that television has become a much more significant power now than it was then. That being said, more people are watching the same things and being 'cultivated' to the same ideas. This brings me to the main point of this blog, the power of the people sending those messages.
I use journalists simply because it is what I aspire to be someday but the following rules apply to anyone who has the ability to put out a mass message (AKA anyone with a Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Blog, etc.). As a journalist you often have to speak about an immense variety of subjects. It is naive to think that journalists are experts on all the subjects that they speak about but to the viewer at home, that anchor knows more about the subject than them, making them an expert. When you educate the uneducated about something they are likely to believe what you are saying as truth because they do not know any better.
If Cultivation theory has any merit at all then the prospect of someone--especially someone who is NOT an expert in a subject--telling people who can't ask questions and can't respond to what the journalist is saying is a tremendous amount of power. A news station has the ability to decide what is important to everyone else in our society (in some cases, our global society), place value on it, and then dictate what we should think about it. Journalism is suppose to be unbiased. However, realistically it is quite difficult, if not impossible, not to put some sort of biased spin on any story.
A world that all thinks the same way based on the view points of one person is way too much power for anyone and it is dangerous: Hitler was able to make millions go to war, kill and die for his plans of genocide. Teenage girls have developed Bulemia based on someones idea of what beauty is. Many young boys get their ideals of what it means to be a man and how to treat women from the WWE. Many people don't leave their homes because news stations decided the latest murder story was more important to air than the volunteer work done by hundreds each day. There are people out there who think they can get away with the perfect murder because they have watched a few seasons of CSI. Votes for public officials have been swayed because of celebrity endorsements. TV has the ability to make us all think about the same things in the same way. Shouldn't we ask,"Who's doing the thinking?"
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